August 2020: The Finance Issue

Issue Features & Takeaways:

• The natural products industry can do more to connect investors with entrepreneurs of color
• As communities of color suffer higher incidence of chronic conditions linked to poor nutrition, the nutrition industry remains slow to respond with investment
• Investor capital remains ample, but in order to access it, brands will have to demonstrate good leadership and resiliency
• After a pandemic-induced freeze, M&A is back on track—but with a whole new set of rules
• Slipping from its “it” status, hemp CBD faces plummeting prices throughout the value chain and continued regulatory uncertainty
• 2020 has been a challenging year, especially for small brands trying to get noticed—by consumers and investors—as panic buying ebbs and sales move online
• Wellvest’s David Thibodeau writes that the Covid pandemic is a moment that proves the value in the natural products industry mission